Caldwell County was formed in 1841 from Burke and Wilkes counties. It was named in honor of Joseph Caldwell, the first president of the University of North Carolina. He strongly advocated a public school system and a railroad across the center of the State from Morehead City to Tennessee.

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Caldwell County is in the west central section of the State and is bordered by Alexander, Catawba, Burke, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties. The present land area is 471.60 square miles and the 2000 population was 77,386.

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The court was ordered to be held at the store of George Powell near the house of George Smith, Jr., until a courthouse was erected. Commissioners were named to select a site as near the center as possible, acquire land and a town, and erect a courthouse. Lenoir, named in honor of William Lenoir, is the county seat.<br>

'''1841'''--Caldwell County&nbsp;was created 11 January 1841&nbsp;from [[Burke County, North Carolina|Burke]] and [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes]] Counties. '''County seat''': Lenoir <ref name="Handybook">''The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America'',10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).</ref>

*[http://www.ncgenweb-data.com/ybook/resultlist.php?county=caldwell Caldwell County college students] - a name list of students at various NC colleges with identified hometowns in the county

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*Davenport College: a few yearbooks between [http://goo.gl/poADn 1905-1932]

==== Land ====

==== Land ====

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The Register of Deeds office is the primary custodian of permanent records for the county. We record a variety of real property documents including deeds, deeds of trust, mortgage cancellations, powers of attorney, maps and others. The Vital Records Division maintains Caldwell County birth records, death records, marriage licenses issued in Caldwell County, Military Discharges, and Notary records. Our online records search can be accessed from this site and contains all of our real estate indexes since the formation of the county and images of all of our real estate documents from the early 1900's forward. Indexes of all of our vital records can also be found there.

*[http://www.caldwellrod.org/county-info/ Caldwell County History] - from the Caldwell County Government website

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*[http://www.caldwellcountync.org/ Caldwell County Government]

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==== Maps ====

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==== Migration ====

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Early migration routes to and from Caldwell County for European settlers included:<ref>''Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.'' (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 847-61. ({{FHL|1049485|item|disp=FHL Book 973 D27e 2002}}) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50140092 WorldCat entry.], and William E. Myer, ''Indian Trails of the Southeast''. (Nashville, Tenn.: Blue and Gray Press, 1971), 12-14, and the book's pocket map "The Trail System of the Southeastern United States in the early Colonial Period" (1923). ({{FHL|54678|item|disp=FHL Book 970.1 M992i}}) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1523234 WorldCat entry].</ref>

The Caldwell County Clerk of the Court has probate records starting with 1830, if they have not been transferred to the North Carolina State Archives.<br>

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The Clerk of Superior Court is elected for four years and must be a resident of the county in which he or she is elected. Unlike clerks of court in other states, the Clerk of Superior Court in North Carolina has numerous judicial functions.

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As judge of probate, the Clerk has exclusive original jurisdiction over matters relating to the probate of wills, and the administration of estates, including appointing personal representatives, auditing their accounting, and removing them from office if necessary. The Clerk also presides over many other legal matters including adoptions, incompetency proceedings, condemnation of private lands for public use, and foreclosures. The Clerk is responsible for all clerical and record-keeping functions of the district and superior court. In addition, the Clerk receives and disburses money collected each year from court fees and fines.

Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and land Clerk Superior Court has divorce, Court and Probate Records[1]

History

Caldwell County was formed in 1841 from Burke and Wilkes counties. It was named in honor of Joseph Caldwell, the first president of the University of North Carolina. He strongly advocated a public school system and a railroad across the center of the State from Morehead City to Tennessee.

Caldwell County is in the west central section of the State and is bordered by Alexander, Catawba, Burke, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties. The present land area is 471.60 square miles and the 2000 population was 77,386.

The court was ordered to be held at the store of George Powell near the house of George Smith, Jr., until a courthouse was erected. Commissioners were named to select a site as near the center as possible, acquire land and a town, and erect a courthouse. Lenoir, named in honor of William Lenoir, is the county seat.

Parent County

1841--Caldwell County was created 11 January 1841 from Burke and Wilkes Counties. County seat: Lenoir [2]

Education

Land

The Register of Deeds office is the primary custodian of permanent records for the county. We record a variety of real property documents including deeds, deeds of trust, mortgage cancellations, powers of attorney, maps and others. The Vital Records Division maintains Caldwell County birth records, death records, marriage licenses issued in Caldwell County, Military Discharges, and Notary records. Our online records search can be accessed from this site and contains all of our real estate indexes since the formation of the county and images of all of our real estate documents from the early 1900's forward. Indexes of all of our vital records can also be found there.

Military

Civil War

Newspapers

Probate

The Caldwell County Clerk of the Court has probate records starting with 1830, if they have not been transferred to the North Carolina State Archives.

The Clerk of Superior Court is elected for four years and must be a resident of the county in which he or she is elected. Unlike clerks of court in other states, the Clerk of Superior Court in North Carolina has numerous judicial functions.

As judge of probate, the Clerk has exclusive original jurisdiction over matters relating to the probate of wills, and the administration of estates, including appointing personal representatives, auditing their accounting, and removing them from office if necessary. The Clerk also presides over many other legal matters including adoptions, incompetency proceedings, condemnation of private lands for public use, and foreclosures. The Clerk is responsible for all clerical and record-keeping functions of the district and superior court. In addition, the Clerk receives and disburses money collected each year from court fees and fines.

References

↑The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

↑Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 847-61. (FHL Book 973 D27e 2002) WorldCat entry., and William E. Myer, Indian Trails of the Southeast. (Nashville, Tenn.: Blue and Gray Press, 1971), 12-14, and the book's pocket map "The Trail System of the Southeastern United States in the early Colonial Period" (1923). (FHL Book 970.1 M992i) WorldCat entry.